INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosier lawmakers have agreed to rein in a state commission that repeatedly has frustrated Northwest Indiana fire chiefs and elected officials by temporarily preventing local carbon monoxide detector ordinances from taking effect.House Enrolled Act 1004, which advanced Tuesday to the governor's desk following a 90-0 House vote, prohibits the Indiana Fire Prevention and Building Safety Commission from continuing to issue nonspecific local ordinance denials.It previously passed the Senate, 49-0.If approved, as expected, by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, the commission would be required to cite the particular provisions of the state fire safety or building laws that form the basis for the commission halting a local safety ordinance from going into force.Several Region communities last year saw their carbon monoxide detector ordinances thwarted by the commission, seemingly without justification, as the Indiana Fire Code is silent on carbon monoxide detectors.After The Times questioned Holcomb about the denials, the commission reversed its earlier rulings and permitted carbon monoxide detector requirements for new residential construction to take effect in Chesterton, Michigan City, LaPorte and Porter County.See the latest from our Crossing the Line series here Crossing the Line — Wind Gusts Crossing the line separating Indiana and Illinois sometimes means dealing with different laws and customs. Readers are asked to share ideas for this weekly feature. This week: Wind gusts.It's often said that March weather comes in roaring like a lion and goes out peaceful like a lamb.That's something most any resident of Illinois or Indiana can confirm as they struggle to cope with strong winds in the first weeks of this month.But folk wisdom aside, weather records show the highest recorded wind gusts in both states, excluding tornadoes, occurred at other times of the year.According to the National Weather Service, the highest wind gust in Chicago was 87 Continue Reading

GLENVILLE, Minn. — Wind turbines have become as commonplace in parts of the rural Midwest as tree-sheltered farmhouses, gray-metal grain bins and deeply furrowed fields. The slowly spinning blades are a sign of investment in a region that often has few growth opportunities to brag about. But when a developer sought to put up dozens more of the 400-foot towers in southern Minnesota, hundreds of people in the heart of wind country didn’t celebrate. They fought back, going door-to-door to alert neighbors and circulating petitions to try to kill the project. They packed county board meetings, hired a lawyer and pleaded their case before state commissions. “I’ve had more neighbors in my living room in the last six months than in all the years we’ve lived here,” said Dorenne Hansen, a leader in the effort whose family has farmed in the area for more than a century. The criticism has worked so far, stalling the development. Although opposition to wind power is nothing new, the residents of Freeborn County are part of a newly invigorated rebellion against the tall turbines. These energized opponents have given fresh momentum to a host of anti-wind ideas and successfully halted projects across the country. Some wind developments are still moving ahead, especially in sparsely populated areas, but the success of opposition groups shows that when residents put up organized opposition, they often win. Wind power remains broadly popular, drawing support from environmentalists who worry about global warming, landowners who welcome a new stream of steady income and local governments seeking more tax revenue. For supporters, wind seems to offer something for everyone: carbon-free electricity, construction and maintenance jobs, and competitive utility rates. Those factors have fueled incredible growth in the industry, which the American Wind Energy Association says operates more than 54,000 turbines in 41 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. Continue Reading

Most people have heard of the Dakota Access pipeline, but many Minnesotans may not know that Enbridge, one of the companies behind DAPL, is proposing an enormous pipeline expansion through our state. Enbridge wants to construct a new pipeline called “Line 3” to carry tar-sands oil from Alberta to Superior, Wis. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission will hold hearings on the pipeline proposal this fall and will decide whether to permit it in 2018. While citizens may testify at the hearings, some parties have been formally recognized as “intervenors,” based on having submitted petitions declaring that the project would directly affect them. Intervenors will participate officially in court proceedings, representing their specific opposition to Line 3. The Line 3 pipeline would have many harmful effects. High on the list: It would contribute to climate change by expanding fossil-fuel infrastructure and dependency. Therefore, 12 other young people and I petitioned to intervene together in these legal proceedings, because the advancement of climate change would directly, personally and adversely affect our future health, opportunities, livelihoods and well-being. As young people who value clean water and air, and who would like to count on healthy, thriving futures, we feel our voices should be heard in this process. We call ourselves the “youth climate intervenors,” and on July 3, a judge affirmed the merits of our argument, officially granting us intervenor status. Young people have never formally intervened in a U.S. pipeline review process, yet we bring unique positions to the table that no other group brings. Because the pipeline would be in use for decades and potentially in the ground indefinitely, young people would experience the greatest burden of its impacts. We will have to live the longest with the consequences of today’s decisions. While climate change affects everyone in many shared ways, for this process the 13 Continue Reading

By Jarrett Renshaw and Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Refiners from the Midwest United States are fighting for access to a vital Pennsylvania pipeline – a move that could cripple their East Coast competitors and redraw the map for international flows of crude and fuel into coveted coastal markets. The regulatory dispute centers on a proposal by pipeline operator Buckeye Partners’ to that state's Public Utilities Commission. The plan would reverse the flow of fuels on a section of Buckeye’s 350-mile Laurel Pipeline, which currently flows from the East Coast to Pittsburgh. Because pipelines only flow in one direction, the change would effectively block five East Coast refineries from serving Pittsburgh – with Midwest refiners picking up their market share. The commission will decide on whether to allow Buckeye to reverse the flow from Pittsburgh, near the state’s western border, to Altoona, a small city about a hundred miles to the east. For a map detailing the proposal, see: http://tmsnrt.rs/2qk72Ep Initially, such a reversal would cost East Coast refiners about $10 million annually, according to a study gasoline marketer Gulf Operating commissioned to include in its objections to the Buckeye proposal. Piping gasoline to Pittsburgh yields some of their highest per-barrel profits. But opponents, including East Coast refiners and some state lawmakers, are far more worried that such a decision would presage a reversal of the entire pipeline. That would take Midwest fuels all the way to Philadelphia on the state's eastern border, where it connects to distribution networks serving the entire eastern seaboard. For Buckeye, the move represents a bet that surging Midwest refiners will be better customers - keeping its pipeline full to capacity - than their struggling East Coast counterparts. The stakes are much higher for the refiners involved. Midwest refiners could gain a huge market opportunity to pipe fuels Continue Reading

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission has voted down a move by tribal and environmental groups to force a reboot to the Keystone XL pipeline's state-level permitting process.PUC commissioners did say there are clear questions about whether South Dakota's stretch of the massive and controversial project is still due the construction permit it earned in 2010, given a series of changes to its original scope. S.D. delegation blasts threat of Keystone vetoThe 2014 version of the pipeline would be able to carry crude from North Dakota, for example, along with the anticipated crude extracted from Alberta's tar sands.Even so, commissioners ruled that forcing pipeline owner TransCanada to start over without being offered a chance to explain how it could make those changes while meeting its old obligations would be a denial of due process. Poll: Do you agree with vetoing the Keystone XL pipeline?"We need to go through the process to find out," Commissioner Chris Nelson said.TransCanada asked for re-certification of its 2010 construction permit in September. The company had to ask for re-certification because four years had passed since the permit was granted.The pipeline stalled as President Obama chose to delay the issuance of a federal permit indefinitely, a move that has frustrated supporters, who say the project will add jobs and boost energy security. If completed, the Keystone XL pipeline would send more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day.The GOP-controlled Senate is expected to take up the issue this week.In a new application for the 313 miles of pipeline planned for South Dakota, the company notes 30 changes to the original project, including the addition of North Dakota oil, minor route changes, alterations to construction plans and costs.The Yankton Sioux Tribe filed a motion to dismiss the company's application based on those changes, saying the re-certification process is meant for projects that have been delayed, not those that have altered dramatically Continue Reading

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on Tuesday voted down a move by tribal and environmental groups to force a reboot to the Keystone XL pipeline's state-level permitting process.PUC commissioners said there are clear questions about whether South Dakota's stretch of the massive and controversial project is still due the construction permit it earned in 2010, given a series of changes to its original scope.The 2014 version of the pipeline would be able to carry crude from North Dakota, for example, along with the anticipated crude extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada.Even so, commissioners ruled that forcing pipeline owner TransCanada to start over without being offered a chance to explain how it could make those changes while meeting its old obligations would be a denial of due process."We need to go through the process to find out," Commissioner Chris Nelson said.TransCanada asked for re-certification of its 2010 construction permit in September. The company had to ask for re-certification because four years had passed since the permit was granted.The pipeline stalled as President Obama chose Tuesday to delay the issuance of a federal permit indefinitely, a move that has frustrated supporters, who say the project will add jobs and boost energy security. If completed, the Keystone XL pipeline would release more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day.The GOP-controlled Senate is expected to take up the issue this week.In a new application for the 313 miles of pipeline planned for South Dakota, the company notes 30 changes to the original project, including the addition of North Dakota oil, minor route changes, alterations to construction plans and costs.The Yankton Sioux Tribe filed a motion to dismiss the company's application based on those changes, saying the re-certification process is meant for projects that have been delayed, not those that have altered dramatically in scope.The permit was issued with a set of 50 conditions, which were based on the Continue Reading

Some states and water utilities are balking at the Environmental Protection Agency’s call to post inventory information online about the number and locations of risky lead pipes in their systems, according to a review of documents obtained from 49 states by the USA TODAY NETWORK.Drinking water regulators in about a dozen states expressed varying degrees of resistance or concerns about the EPA’s directive encouraging water systems to voluntarily give consumers easy access to what utilities know about homes receiving drinking water through lead service lines, a key indicator of whether a home's tap water could be contaminated and whether utilities are complying with testing regulations.“We do not have the initial materials inventory from systems readily available and do not intend to spend valuable staff resources sifting through microfilm to find this information,” South Dakota’s water regulatory agency told the EPA, saying in its March 7 letter that it would instead post details about the subset of homes where each utility takes its water samples.USA TODAY NETWORK reporters collected letters from 49 state agencies responding to the EPA’s call for action. Requests are still pending for letters from New Jersey and the District of Columbia.Some major water utilities told USA TODAY they also have concerns, including customers' privacy. The bottom line: It’s unlikely water system inventory information will be widely available online anytime soon.“What the EPA is asking for is critically important,” said Yanna Lambrinidou, a drinking water safety watchdog and affiliate faculty member at Virginia Tech. She called resistance expressed by some states “highly troubling” and an impediment to the public knowing whether utilities are testing water from the right customers’ taps, meaning those with the lead service lines that are most likely to have Continue Reading

News about the Dakota Access pipeline and the protests in North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux reservation has filled headlines and social media feeds for the past few months.But before the protests grabbed the attention of the nation, a variety of legal battles had already set the stage for the ensuing events.Here is a look at how it all evolved:December 2014: Energy Transfer Partners LP applies to build a pipeline spanning 1,172 miles and four states from North Dakota to Iowa. It would carry 570,000 barrels of crude oil per day and cost $3.78 billion.January 25, 2016: Dakota Access LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer, announces it has received approval from the North Dakota Public Service Commission, meaning it has three of the necessary four state approvals to move forward with the project.March 11, 2016: Iowa Utilities Board unanimously approves the pipeline, making Iowa the fourth and final state to OK the plan. On the same day, the Environmental Protection Agency sends a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal body overseeing the construction, to perform another environmental assessment of the project.April 1, 2016: A group of 200 Native Americans ride on horseback to protest the pipeline's location. The plans for construction pass through sacred land for the Standing Rock Sioux, a tribe whose reservation lies in both North and South Dakota.April 29, 2016: The Standing Rock Sioux petition the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and demand a more thorough environmental impact study of the site.July 26, 2016: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approves the final land easements and water crossing to allow the pipeline to go forward. The Mississippi River, Lake Sakakawea and Lake Oahe, a sacred site for the Standing Rock Sioux, are among the waters granted easements.July 27, 2016: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sues the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and seeks an emergency stop to all Continue Reading

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A Harrisburg-area farm family has sued the Dakota Access pipeline for failure to keep its promise to restore their land after construction.The lawsuit is the first of its kind in South Dakota state court, and speaks to fears of lost productivity expressed by farmers in the planning stages of the controversial four-state pipeline.Slack Family Properties LLC is accusing the pipeline company of breach of contract, unauthorized taking of property, fraud and deceit in its lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Lincoln County.The Slack family says five parcels of its farm ground were disrupted and drain tiles were disconnected by the pipeline’s construction, causing damage to two growing seasons’ worth of corn and soybeans.The 800 acres saw compacted soils and heavy flooding, and the company has yet to reattach the drain tiles or compensate the family for the damages, which it had promised to cover in its easement deal with the family. More: Dakota Access pipeline developer sues Greenpeace, others for $1 billion Previously: Iowa opponents still think they can shut down Dakota Access Pipeline “It’s just been disgusting to have something said to us — that we’re going to be taken care of — then to have them just pull the pin and say ‘we’re not going to do anything,’” said Greg Slack.Glenn Boomsma, a Sioux Falls lawyer who represents the Slack family and also represented to several families during the pipeline’s South Dakota permit hearings, said his clients’ experience is evidence the company is unwilling to uphold its responsibilities.“We got them the Cadillac version of the easement agreement, but in the end, Dakota Access still didn’t follow it,” Boomsma said.The company’s lawyer and declined to comment on Wednesday. It's public relations firm did not respond to requests for comment.Boomsma and Slack have heard similar Continue Reading